Cox was born in Zanesville, Ohio on Sept. 30, 1824, the son of Ezekiel Taylor Cox, editor of the
After completing his primary and secondary education, Cox attended Ohio University for two years before entering and graduating with high honors from Brown University in 1846. He studied law for two years in Cincinnati, and then opened a brief law partnership with George L. Pugh, a future U.S. senator from Ohio. The partnership was successful, but nonetheless Cox's ambitions drew him to Europe. After marrying Julia A. Buckingham in 1849, he traveled with her through Europe for a year, a journey which resulted in the writing of
The commercial success of
Upon returning to Ohio, Cox was elected to the U.S. Congress as a Democrat from the 10th Ohio District. For the next 30 years, with the exception of the 39th and 40th Congresses, and a year in the diplomatic service, Cox was continually in Congress.
Arriving in Washington, D.C. in 1856, Cox strongly supported Stephen Douglass in his struggle against the Kansas Lecompton Constitution; however, he actively opposed the nominal head of his party, President Buchanan, on several key issues, including the Homestead bill. Throughout his career Cox maintained an attitude of independence, which may have cost him his two bids for the House Speakership. As the Civil War approached, Cox supported all measures which offered hope of reconciliation between the sections. He was nevertheless a staunch Unionist and supported all war appropriations, although throughout the war he continued to work strongly for compromise and early settlement. As a result, Cox was never identified with C.L. Vallandigham and other Copperheads.
During the war years, Cox aided in the settlement of the Trent Affair, strongly opposed the declaration of martial law outside the war zone, sought the abolishment of privateering, and was instrumental in bringing about the unsuccessful Hampton Roads Conference of 1864. He supported General George McClellan for President in 1864, and before he himself suffered defeat in his bid for reelection, Cox successfully opposed extreme confiscation measures of Southern property.
After his defeat, Cox moved to New York, convinced that Ohio was becoming increasingly Republican. For the next several months he practiced law and wrote
Cox was appointed Minister to Turkey in 1885, but resigned after only one year of service, writing
While Cox was a writer of some importance, this specific collection is almost entirely political in scope, consisting of the office correspondence of a U.S. Congressman and diplomat. Few of the letters are significant in their own right, being simple requests for political favors, appointments, recommendations, and information. Taken together, however, this collection presents a vivid view of local politics--of Democratic party machinations and the views and needs of hundreds of people--in Ohio during the mid-1850's to the mid-1860's, and in New York from 1868 to 1889.
In other respects, however, the scope of this collection is severely limited. It contains few letters written by Cox himself, few letters concerning Cox's private or literary life, nor does it contain much in the way of family correspondence. Other manuscript repositories containing manuscripts concerning Cox can be consulted, however. Consult the
Although Brown University has physical ownership of the collection and the materials contained therein, it does not claim literary rights. Researchers should note that compliance with copyright law is their responsibility. Researchers must determine the owners of the literary rights and obtain any necessary permissions from them.
There are no restrictions on access, except that the collection can only be seen by prior appointment. Some materials may be stored off-site and cannot be produced on the same day on which they are requested.
Samuel Sullivan Cox papers, Ms. 77.15, Brown University Library.
The original order of the collection has been lost. The collection is arranged by correspondent and then chronologically within each section. The papers are now divided into 6 series:
The provenance of this collection has been lost. The Samuel Sullivan Cox papers were apparently purchased in 1951 from a Mr. Emil Hurja of New York, but the purchase records have either been destroyed or lost. It is not known where or how Mr. Hurja originally obtained the collection. Furthermore, it is suspected that additional material, such as Cox's personal library, was acquired at the same time, but unfortunately this cannot now be substantiated.
The Samuel Sullivan Cox papers were processed and guide compiled by Clifton H. Jones, Manuscript Curator, Nov. 1977.
Brown University Library catalog record for this collection:
For a detailed listing of the contents of this scrapbook